On today's show: Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper Meets with Concerned Citizens in Homewood; The Tour De Frack Brings their Message to Washington DC; A look into Pennsylvania's voter ID law; Reporting from the Pennsylvania Hearing on Solitary Confinement and more in our local and global headlines.

Rustbelt Radio is broadcast live from WRCT studios every other Monday at 6 PM on 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, and the program airs again on WRCT every Tuesday morning at 9AM.

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We turn now to local stories.

Headlines

Local News

[ 9:50 ] Pennsylvania Hearing on Solitary Confinement

Well over one hundred people filled a conference suite at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 18, to hear testimony on the effects of solitary confinement. They included survivors of solitary, family members, community members, advocates, and lawmakers. The hearing was held by the Democratic Policy Committee of Pennsylvania at the request of Representative Ronald G. Waters of Philadelphia and a member of the committee. It comes in the wake of the first ever Congressional hearing on solitary confinement, held by a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in June, and serves as yet another marker of how the widespread practice of solitary confinement in American prisons and jails is quickly becoming a mainstream human rights issue.

Solitary confinement is the practice of forced isolation that confines a prisoner in an, often tiny, cell for 23 to 24 hours a day with no human contact. The United States began using solitary confinement in current day in the 1980s and is considered torture by the United Nations.

The hearing also followed a rally on Monday at Philadelphia’s Love Park, organized by the Human Rights Coalition. About 150 participants listened to speakers describe their experiences in solitary confinement, while holding signs and banners that read “Jobs Not Jails,” “Fund Schools Not Prisons,” and “End Torture in Pennsylvania.”

LuQman Abdullah, a member of the Human Rights Coalition and survivor of solitary spoke at both the rally and the hearing about his experiences and gave an indictment of how the system works.

Robert "midget" Molley, who now goes by the name Hakeem Shaheed spoke of his time in the federal prison system. Shaheed also presented testimony at Tuesday's hearing. Most of his time in solitary confinement was spent at Marion Prison, a federal super maximum security prison in Illinois that was built to replace Alcatraz.

Jules Lobel, a University of Pittsburgh law professor and director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, presented testimony on a panel of legal experts on Tuesday. During his statement, Lobel compared the situation of Robert King and the other two members of the Angola 3, to that of Russell Maroon Shoats, a sixty-eight-year-old Pennsylvania man who has spent the last twenty-one years in solitary confinement. He called both cases "arbitrary, discriminatory, and inhumane".

Shoats' daughter, Theresa (Te-Ree-Sa), spoke at both the rally and the hearing about her father and the effects that prisons and the torture inside of them, has on community.

Representative Ronald Waters ended the hearing, reminding the audience how hard it will be to bring everything they had learned that day back to the rest of the lawmakers in Pennsylvania and gain any meaningful change. ”Its too easy to go along with the narrative of tough on crime, you see the stories that make the newspapers,” he said. Representatives who had stayed an hour and a half beyond the scheduled time greeted some of the panelists and filed out of the conference room, having received the message that the uphill battle to end solitary confinement in Pennsylvania is one those present felt is worth fighting.

This piece was recorded and produced by Rustbelt Radio volunteer Hannah Taleb.

[10:22] Voter ID Report

[ 1:30 ] Terrell Johnson Free At Last!

Only minutes before the close of court on Wednesday, September 12, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all three charges in the 18-year-old case of Commonwealth v. Terrell Johnson, causing the defendant and his family and supporters to burst into tears of joy. Terrell had spent more than 17 years in prison after being convicted of the 1994 murder of Verna Robinson. The jury found him not guilty of first degree murder, retaliation against a witness, and criminal conspiracy.

This victory represents a resounding testament to the power of faith and family, and it would not have been possible without the steadfast determination of Saundra Cole, Terrell’s wife, who tracked down the new evidence that led to the re-trial, inspired others to help organize press conferences, teach-ins, rallies, and community events, and together with Terrell raised and maintained a caring and supportive family throughout this trying but transformative struggle.

After a 24-hour processing period Terrell Johnson was released to awaiting family and friends. He had this to say to a local WTAE reporter waiting outside.

[ 18:48] Tour De Frack Takes their Message to Washington DC

[ 2:00 ]Amy Goodman for Independent Media recruitment special!

And we finish today's show with on a note about the importance of independent media. On Thursday September 13th Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy and long-time grassroots journalist, spoke at Carnegie Mellon about a new book she has published entitled "the Silenced Majority," about electoral politics and other pressing issues.

If you would like to heed Amy's call for Independent media makers you can get involved with us here at Rustbelt Radio! For more information you can contact us by sending an email to radio@indypgh.org.

This piece was recorded and produced by Rustbelt Radio volunteer Hannah Taleb.

Ending

Calendar of Events

And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:

A Massively Critical Bike Ride will be taking place, on the two month anniversary of the death of Homewood rider, James Price. The ride will be in remembrance of Price, as well as other cyclists who have been killed and victimized. It will also serve as an opportunity to raise awareness of cyclists on the road. Meet 7501 Penn Ave at the Factory in front of the Ghost Bike on Tuesday September 25th at 5pm sharp. The ride will be at a pace that everyone can maintain. Helmets are highly encouraged. For more information, please visit occupypittsburgh.org

The People of Color Zine Project tour is making a stop in Pittsburgh on September 26th and will be taking place at 7pm at The Mr. Roboto Project, located at 5106 Penn Avenue in Bloomfield. This project aims to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share. In addition to the touring zine makers, this event includes contributions from Barren Scepter and Alaina Marie. For more on this, visit poczineproject.tumblr.com.

Council to Go is the mobile district office for City Councilman Patrick Dowd. Patrick and Council District 7 staff will be available to hear concerns, respond to questions about city services, and give information about legislation in Council on Thursday September 27th at 7 pm - 8pm at Tazza D'Oro at 1125 N. Highland Avenue.

On October 6th and 7th, Figment Hits Pittsburgh is holding a participatory arts festival that will act as a forum for the creation of interactive art across all disciplines. This event will take place in the North Side, for more information please visit figmentproject.org

Occupy Pittsburgh celebrates their One Year Anniversary on October 15th for more information follow them on Twitter @occupypgh

[1:00] Outro

Our hosts this week are [ Kayla Slicker ] and [ Lizzie Anderson ] with contributions from [ Kayla Slicker, Don Carpenter, Hannah Taleb and Tom Jeffereson ]. This week's show was produced by Shawn Watson. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.

You can get involved with Rustbelt Radio! To contact us, email RADIO at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG. Become our fan on Facebook to receive updates on our latest episode, and follow us on Twitter @pghimc. All of our shows are available on our website at RADIO dot INDY-P-G-H dot ORG and this show can be heard again Tuesday morning on WRCT at 9 AM after Democracy Now!

Tune in next week at this time for another edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's bi-weekly review of news from the grassroots.